Ways to Boost your Immune System

Arnulfo Collier Comments Off on Ways to Boost your Immune System

Many people find that they are prone to colds and other illnesses because their immune system is weak. This often occurs because of poor diet and other influences such as consuming alcohol and smoking cigarettes. The good news is that you can easily boost your immune system in a number of different ways to keep illness at bay.

Immune System Boosting Foods

Eating a diet that is rich in fruit and vegetables and low in processed foods can work wonders on the way you look and feel. While all fruits and vegetables can help promote good health, some such as yoghurt are particularly good at boosting the immune system. Other immune system boosting foods include garlic, oats and barley, shellfish such as oysters, crabs and clams and mushrooms.

Take Supplements

Unfortunately, most of us do not get enough vitamins and minerals from our regular diet, which can cause the immune system to crash. Consider taking a daily multivitamin every day to help give the immune system the boost that it needs. That way, even if you miss a few meals or eat junk food due to lack of time, your immune system should still be firing on all cylinders.

Healthy Drinks

Research has shown that drinking five or more cups of black tea a day can significantly boost the immune system. However, make sure that you drink plenty of water after drinking black tea to avoid becoming dehydrated.

Cut out the Coffee

Many of us resort to stimulants such as coffee and cigarettes when we are feeling stressed. Although they seem to do the job at the time, they actually significantly weaken the immune system, especially if they are consumed regularly. Give your immune system a break and reduce your caffeine and alcohol consumption to one drink a day and work on saying goodbye to that destructive smoking habit forever.

Take up Yoga or Meditation

When the body is stressed, the adrenal glands produce epinephrine. Over time, this has an impact on the immune system, causing it to become weak. It has been shown that stress can also cause illnesses such as asthma. Set aside a little time to relax and unwind so that your stress levels are reduced. Yoga and meditation are both great ways of relaxing your mind and body and both of these activities can be practiced virtually anywhere and at any time of day.

Exercise

Just 15-20 minutes of your favourite type of exercise such as swimming, cycling or jogging can have significant long term effects on the immune system.

Categories: Health and safety